ACC - NFL Draft Analysis

This piece digs a little deeper into the talent level on each Atlantic Coast Conference team by focusing on the last 5 NFL Drafts. Unlike previous blogs, this piece is not a reflection on a team's current talent level, but speaks to teams talent level in the past.

The Weighted Average (WA) is calculated as followed.

1st Round = 2.5 points
2nd Round = 2 points
3rd Round = 1.5 points
4th Round = 1 points
5th Round = .75 points
6th Round = .50 points
7th Round = .25 points

The column labeled with (#) is a count of players taken across all rounds.

Overall Draft Picks


The ACC had a total of 34 players selected in the first round over the last 5 seasons including 7 from Florida State University. Overall the ACC had a total of 184 players selected. The Seminoles had the most players selected with 27 Noles drafted. Virginia Tech was second with 24 followed by Miami with 23. Florida State and Miami had a sizable cushion over the rest of the ACC in terms of weighted average.


Matt Ryan

Offensive Draft Picks


The ACC had a total of 13 players selected in the first round over the last 5 seasons including 4 from The University of Virginia. A total of 81 offensive players were drafted. Georgia Tech's Calvin Johnson was selected #2 overall in the 2007 Draft to the Detroit Lions.

Defensive Draft Picks


The ACC had a total of 21 players drafted in the first round over the last 5 years lead by 6 from Florida State University. A total of 99 ACC defensive players were drafted. NC State's Mario Williams was selected #1 overall in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Houston Texans.


Mario Williams

Over the last 5 years, the ACC has had more players drafted on the defensive side of the ball than the offensive side of the ball, which isn't surprising for a league that is known more for its defense than its offense.

Next week, I will be breaking down the SEC Talent Level.